It was about this time 40 years ago that I heard from school friends that a formal chess club was to be set up in Penang. There had never been one before despite a strong presence of student chess activities in the state.
Intrigued, I joined my chess mates at the Penang Public Library – then operating from the top floor of the imposing Penang Supreme Court heritage building in Farquhar Street, George Town – on Mar 12, 1972 just as the inaugural meeting was being called to order.
If I remember correctly, there were about 50 people, both young and old, congregating around several chess boards in a section of the library on that Sunday in 1972. The number surprised me as I didn’t know then that the game already had such a wide appeal among adults at a time when the Internet was still unheard of.
Like me, they had come specially for this chess meeting. Like me, they had heard the word spread among friends. There were no such conveniences then like emails or electronic bulletin boards or the world-wide web. Just plain old-fashioned word-of-word or telephone calls or the rare one-column inch announcements in the newspapers.
As I was still below 18 years old at that time, I had to sign up as a junior member of the fledgling Penang Chess Association (PCA). Such was my enthusiasm that I could not care about requiring approval for joining a society outside a school.
It’s hard for me to believe that 40 years have gone by. Possibly, of all the people that attended the inaugural meeting, I am the only one remaining who is still active enough in this game. The only one left, so to speak, to remind the PCA that they must celebrate their 40th anniversary this year with a big bang.
In my opinion, the Penang heritage city international chess championship at the end of this year should be the perfect forum for them to do so and I shall hope that they will make full use of the opportunity to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
In the same vein, I also wish to remind the Malaysian Chess Federation and the Chess Association of Selangor that they too must celebrate their own 40th anniversary in 2014. We all owe it to the chess enthusiasts in the country, estimated at 100,000 or more.
Chess is no longer the domain of the supposedly intellectuals; it has seeped down to a new generation of grassroots in the urban and non-urban areas of society. Enlightened educationists now recognise chess as a useful training tool for the mind. That’s why more and more countries have started adopting chess in their school curriculum. The “Chess In School” programme, an on-going movement championed by the World Chess Federation, is bearing fruit.
For a long time I have always maintained that in this modern era, the PCA was the oldest chess association in the country. After it was established in 1972, both the Malaysian Chess Federation and the Chess Association of Selangor were formed in 1974.
Some may argue that the Johor Chess Club was already in existence long before 1972. I would not dispute that but unfortunately, the Johor Chess Club is defunct and its functions are now taken over by the newer Johor Chess Association.
The Johor Chess Club would always be synonymous with its president, Dr Yeoh Bok Choon. For a long time, he cast a very long shadow over chess development in Johor as well as Singapore.
Dr Yeoh was an athlete. He was the first schoolboy ever to win gold medals at a Malayan or Malaysian Amateur Athletic Association meet. That was in 1930. After his school days at the Penang Free School, he proceeded to the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore.
He honed his chess skills in tournaments there and once even became the Singapore Chess Club champion in 1947. Today, that’s the equivalent of becoming the Singapore national champion.
He worked in Singapore after graduation but by 1951 he had relocated to Johor Bahru where he became the state surgeon. It was in October that year that he formed the Johor Chess Club and became its first president.
This much I knew about the man. A few months ago I began wanting to know more about him because I was then involved in a book project for The Old Frees’ Association in Penang. However, all my efforts were stymied as nobody from the present generation of chess players in Johor seemed able to provide any information on him.
As far as they were aware, after Dr Yeoh died in 1983, his family had moved to the Klang Valley and that meant losing all remaining contact with the family.
By a curious coincidence, about two weeks ago, I received an email from someone in Singapore who, as part of his research into the history of Singapore chess, had wanted to know whether I have any useful information to share with him.
Inevitably our email exchanges gravitated to the topic of Dr Yeoh. This chap from Singapore told me that the name did crop up in conversations recently with their 100-year-old Mah Beng Guan who was the secretary of the Singapore Chess Club in the 1950s. Mah remembered Dr Yeoh but could not offer more information than what I already knew.
As far as I am concerned, this is certainly the end of my quest to dig into details about the former Johor state surgeon. But there is still a very slim chance that his family may be reading this column and if so, I would very much welcome their effort to contact me at ssquah@yahoo.com
Typically, the end of the Johor Chess Club is an example to show that nothing is permanent in this world. Chess clubs come and go; people come and go. And chess columns also come and go.
That’s right, folks, chess columns do come and go. This weekly chess column ends with this final story from me. The last four years – no, I should say the last 32 years – have been a great time for me. Though not a staff, I have grown with the best newspaper in the country. In the process, I have made many firm friends there. What the future holds, I do not know. But I do know that some day, we may meet again. Good bye.
Up Next
National age group
The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) will organise this year’s national age group chess championships at the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s indoor stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Mar 11 to 13. Eight rounds with a time control of 45 minutes, plus increment time of 30 seconds per move.
There are six separate categories for both boys and girls: the under-eight, under-10, under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-18. Entry fee is RM40 if paid before Mar 7. Thereafter, acceptance of registration is at the organisers’ discretion and the entry fee is increased to RM80.
The top four players from each category shall qualify to represent the country at the world, Asian, ASEAN and other age group events subject to their acceptance of the federation’s terms and conditions.
Entry forms can be downloaded from http://malaysianchessfederation.blogspot.com. For inquiries, contact Hamid Majid (019.3158098, aham@pc.jaring.my), Gregory Lau (017.2898215, msianchess2010@gmail.com), Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922, tsepin@gmail.com), Zuraihah Wazir (017.2837808) or Haslindah Ruslan (019.2069605).
Perak grand prix
The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) will organise the second leg of this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament at the Chinese Recreation Club in Taiping this Sunday. Seven rounds with a 25-minute time control.
The four remaining legs will be held in Slim River, Bagan Serai, Kampar and Ipoh. Other than cash prizes, points are awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. Those that register under the two junior categories will not be eligible for the open prizes or grand prix points.
Entry fees for all legs: RM25 (open), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open), RM10 (players under 16 years old). For more information, call Yunus (013.3908129), Mrs Chow (05.8076882) or check the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for updates.
